Boat Captain feared dead after fight on fishing vessel

Nov 08, 2009 News

A boat captain is feared dead and his colleague is currently being treated for burns about his body, the result of a fight broke out on their vessel some time Friday in the Berbice River.

Reports are that Trevor Williams, of ‘B’ Field Sophia, was burnt about the body by a known man, some time after noon on Friday while his colleague jumped into the river and failed to surface.

The owner of the boat, Deonarine Sookdeo, told this newspaper that the captain along with six other crewmen left the Meadow Bank wharf some two weeks ago on a regular fishing trip.

Sookdeo said just after 14:00 hours on Friday he received a call from one of his crewmember who informed him that the captain was missing.

The man said that he immediately traveled to Berbice where he met by four of his crewmen at the Springland Police station who related the matter.

The man said that he learnt that one of the crew members told the other that “he gone on ‘strike’.”

“After he tell them that he strike, Trevor went to talk to he and he just throw something on he and bun he up and like he go fuh attack dem other boys,” Sookdeo related.

He added that to save themselves three of the other crew members jumped into the river. Two of them were rescued by a passing vessel. Two of the other crew members along with the injured Williams stayed on board their vessel and hid.

The suspect then sought help from a passing vessel while telling them that he and his crewmembers were attacked by pirates.

Williams and the other crewmembers managed to make it to shore where they reported the matter and Williams was taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital, treated and admitted. He was subsequently transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

However up to press time yesterday the boat captain who has only been identified as ‘Coolie’, had not been located.

His attacker this newspaper has since gone into hiding.